What makes you think any of those plants were real and not just stage props? Also, it's possible that what was used to pot plants back then was not bags of potting soil that's mostly peat moss, which is what does in so many indoor plants now.

Well, we used to think the earth was flat and the sun revolved around it, but as far as we know now, it's not prudent to believe it. ;o)

I'm not sure if your question(s) run(s) deeper than the one you asked. but there are/were people then, just as there are now, whose job is to provide great looking plants for television sets, photo-ops, and other needs. For instance, an acquaintance (Roy Nagatoshi), who owns a bonsai nursery near LA, provided all the bonsai trees used in filming "The Karate Kid" movies. No one really believed they were grown on the set? ;o)

Vermiculite holds water, but it collapses & makes soils too water retentive when used in volume. Sand does promote drainage because of it's angular shape, but robs aeration because of its usually small size. We've learned that we can use Turface and similar products as a replacement for both perlite and vermiculite w/o compromising either water retention or aeration. Fine sand can be replaced with a coarser product, like crushed granite or coarse silica if a soil maker feels sand is necessary.

We just learn how to do things better & more efficiently as science moves forward. We use a Bowflex instead of free weights and a 747 instead of a stagecoach. Microwaves offer quick-heat convenience over a cook stove and I won't even stop to think about the number of drugs that knock us out more efficiently than ether or chloroform.

In large part, rearing/nurturing plants is about time. If you want to invest the time it takes to water and fertilize every 10 minutes, you can grow exquisitely healthy plants in a bucket of marbles. If you know what you're doing, and are willing to go to great pains to water appropriately & be sure cultural conditions are always near peak, you can grow good looking plants in a poor soil, but you can rest assured that frustration lurks much closer to the surface than when you grow in a good soil.

When I write something, I generally write from the perspective of what's best for plant vitality, but I can't help but let reason temper what I say. I have to take into account that you and I aren't willing to spend a 40 hour week after we work one, tending plants. For that reason, I write for the people who want to make an easy time of it, reduce frustration levels, and see improvement in their growing success w/o the necessity of another big chunk of time invested.

I'm not sure if that answered your real question or not?

Al

Well, Al, your post was interesting. And although the broad topic of progress is fascinating, I actually was wondering simply how the old-timers (50 or 70 years ago, especially) got good results with the kind of growing-medium formulas they apparently used.

You wrote: "Vermiculite holds water, but it collapses & makes soils too water retentive when used in volume. Sand does promote drainage because of it's angular shape, but robs aeration because of its usually small size. We've learned that we can use Turface and similar products as a replacement for both perlite and vermiculite w/o compromising either water retention or aeration. Fine sand can be replaced with a coarser product, like crushed granite or coarse silica if a soil maker feels sand is necessary."

I'm currently using perlite, ground bark, and coir in roughly equal parts - fairly organic (if coarse), since I don't want to have to water every couple days, and I want to even be able to leave my plants in the hands of a potentially negligent neighbor if I want to go away for a couple weeks now and again.

Turface (brand name, probably) is unknown in my region. Is there a general descriptor for products of this genre? (Somethbing besides "very coarse kitty litter" - which apparently sends people's minds off in wrong directions!)

And what other non-growing-medium purposes might crushed granite be sold for? The local "farmer's supply", nurseries, and big-box-store garden depts don't seem to stock it.

J.

When I first read the question out of curiosity, I thought it was loaded so didn't reply. I know Al's growing styles are not for everyone, but they work, so I don't hold them suspect.

Most plants of old were dug up from native lands and shipped to the US, much like birds were. That's how they got so large on shoddy growing tequniques. A lot of plants that size were greenhouse grown and swapped out when they looked ragged. I'm not saying all plants were grown this way, obviously there were plants grown in houses which got large, but they didn't compete with air conditioners or central heating. They were let to go semi-dormant. Most of the large plants seen were easy plants at the time like parlor palms or philos, it wasn't until recently that plant stores started selling more exotic plants to the peons of society because mass produced plants became redily available. I know this is probably not the answer you wanted, sorry.

If you can't find turface locally, ask for aquatic plant soil, which is pretty much the same type of fired clay. You can also ask a feed store for something like dry-stall. Some automobile stores have high-temp fired clay oil absorbants also.

Thanks, mentha. I'll be asking around about aquatic soil. Should be something around that fits that description, because "water features" are becoming extremely popular in people's landscaping these days.

How about the granite grit? Around here (small-town & rural western Canada), I have not come across it as a standard offering of garden-supply stores or departments. At least, not sold for the purpose of growing-medium mixing, but possibly for some other purpose (hence some particular generic name attached to it)?

J.

I would hold granite suspect because depending upon where it is found it may drastically change the PH of soil, much like gympsum does. A mistake I was too stubborn to admit until a lot of my plants died. Pumice, and lava rock types are pretty much safe, I have a few plants with red clay colored lava in the soil because I mixed the top dressing in the soil while repotting. I find this combo works excellent for orchids and jungle cacti.

You may have difficulty finding the crushed granite because it is most often sold pre-screened in various sizes as fowl grit, but in coastal areas, you can often only find crushed shellfish shells. I commonly use starter (chicken) grit and grower (turkey) grit sizes. It's quite inexpensive @ about $7 for 50 lbs - up from only $4 a couple of years ago. Don't think 'big-box' for this product. Think 'local elevator' or other feed stores that carry animal supplies & feeds.

Turface is calcined clay granules - meaning it is clay that is fired at high temps until it is very ceramic-like. I'm not sure if you have 'Schultz Soil Conditioner' where you live, but it is the same product as Turface MVP - different packaging.

Mentha said: "I know Al's growing styles are not for everyone, but they work, so I don't hold them suspect."

I just wanted to muse a bit and say that I really don't think my style is so different from any one else's, but the soils I use for a very large % of my plants are probably different than most of you are used to growing in. I think they are well-proven as reliable and extremely productive, by me and literally hundreds of others on the forums, but I'm really not trying to convert anyone. I share what I've learned and my experiences simply because I know these things have the potential to make nurturing easier and more rewarding for a high % of readers willing to embrace something a little different than what they're familiar with.

I just sat thinking for a few seconds before heading out to the garden, & I came up with a thought: Some hobbyists think of soil and never conceptualize it as more than an object or consider there is a huge volume of science involved with its use. They trust what's in the bag and add only hope for a satisfying growing experience, or just content themselves with whatever results are dealt to them w/o ever trying to take control of their plant-rearing.

Others of us are not content with a growing experience we KNOW we can exercise more control over in order that we might increase the satisfaction resulting from our efforts. This group replaces the near total reliance on hope with science and hopes to learn even more tomorrow. ;o) As we would expect, invariably the second group are the more successful growers, the way to their success paved by their efforts. It takes more effort to learn than it does to hope.

Al

Oh Dear,
I certainly didn't mean that as a cut, I hope you realize that Al. If I could afford Turface, I'd be growing everything with it in my mix. I did just a few minutes ago find a source for small lava rock pieces, and I'm estatic!

Oh - I know that, M. I didn't take it that way at all. I was worried you might think I did. No problem - I'm smiling - ;o) see? Lol

Al